A renewable energy company wants to build a battery plant on a Christmas tree farm and has applied for planning permission.
Elgin Energy Es Co Ltd has applied to Rother District Council for permission to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) on land south of the B2204, in Catsfield, near Battle.
The plant would draw energy from the national grid at times of excess power generation, store it and then feed it back into the system at times of high need.
In doing so, the energy network would be able to reduce its reliance on “peaker plants” which are usually powered by natural gas.
Elgin Energy Es Co said in its application: “National policy and guidance are strongly supportive of renewable energy as a means of meeting our increasing energy demands, tackling climate change and transitioning to a prosperous and low-carbon sustainable economy.
“BESS facilities are recognised as being not just necessary but central to meeting an urgent need in a declared climate emergency.
“Energy storage plays a crucial part in the drive to net-zero and provides the capability to store renewable energy for release instantaneously at times of demand, helping to stabilise energy security.
“It also guards against the prospect of renewable energy being ‘lost’ to the grid through network constraints at the time of generation.”
The company wants to build the plant on a less productive part of the Catsfield Christmas Tree Farm, near the National Grid electricity substation at Ninfield. Christmas tree production should continue.
It said that the plant would be expected to have a total power output of up to 99.9 megawatts (MW) although the battery technology used in such facilities was still evolving.
As a result, the developer was unable to say at this stage precisely how many battery units would be on the site and what exact form they would take.
The application said that such units tended to look similar to shipping containers and would usually include monitoring equipment, sprinklers and built-in explosion protection features.
The applicant said that the units would be “finished in muted tones sympathetic to the site’s rural setting.”
Whatever form it might take, the plant would also be expected to include some extra pieces of infrastructure.
These would be likely to include power conversion equipment, storage containers and internal access tracks as well as security cameras and fencing.
It would also include some “low-level” lighting but this would only be used when required – and would be designed in such a way as “to minimise light spillage into surrounding areas”.
The application also said that the construction of BESS facilities “typically” took around six months to complete. Once up and running, they would usually be operated remotely, with “periodic access” only required for staff.
The plant would use the site’s existing access to and from the B2204 but would need to widen this track in some places.
The applicant offered a biodiversity net gain in the form of wetland grassland, native hedgerow planting, rural tree planting and improvements to the Watermill Stream corridor.
The applicant also said that the plant would be outside a 15-metre buffer zone around an area of ancient woodland to the east of the site.
More information on the plans can be found by searching for application reference RR/2025/1284/P on the Rother District Council website.
